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know the first thing about Du~ch· ya chting ~ag~ e . to for R320. Ken Warr sailed the chick, which I designed in six :rules." · which he subscribed. W1th1 first FD at Hermanus, Gordon months. Underwater, the hull In 1936 he came to South others he sensed thM thel Burn Wood introduced it at was V-type, yet it was totally Africa, niarried a Dutch girl, 20 ft. Flying Dutchmafi!t-. ' now the Royal Cape Yacht Club, enclosed and no water could and then returned to Europe regarded as the aristoetat of and I had the first on Zeekoe­ get in in the event of a capsize. at the outbreak of war and single-hulled sailing dblghies vlei. It became an Olympic "The size of the boat was served with the Netherlands throughout the world~could class in 1956." entirely dependent on the Government in London. In become an internationa]i.~Iass. Meanwhile Jack Koper's material I had to hand. The 1947 the Sprog sailing dinghy With the aid of 4i1other family of two sons and two largest plywood sheets are . made its appearance on South w~ll-knowny~chtin g :. te. rson­ daughters were showing an made 8 ft. by 4 ft. So three % African vleis, and J ack was allty, Dr. Ken Walt , he in.creasing keenness to follow sheets would cover a boat 12 ff asked by a friend to skipper arranged for the first ~ch of jn the wake · of their father. ft. by 4 ft. which are the over· M <: Sprog at Zeekoevlei. "We FD shells to be sent t'tti'South When Gerhard. the second all dimensions of the Dabchick. ( sailed quite successfully," he Africa. They arrived 6l Cape oldest, was 14 he wanted his "Seven of these boats were recalled modestly. What, in Town in April. 1952. _ own boat. built by pupils of Rondebosch fact, happened was that he won "Dr. Warr did a Jot to pro~ "S9 I decided to design one Boys' High School under the the national yachting regatta pagate the class by discussin,. myself. It had to be safe, easy supervision of one of the at Knysna iu 1950. the merits of the FD-. while for a young boy to handle, masters, Mr. Willem Diepe­ Shortly afterwards . Koper, filling teeth," Koper l&..bb.· ghed. simple and cheap-to build, yet veen. T h e newly. published

with an instinctive feeling for "I tried to' do it by ~ lding1 fast, en~h to plane and pro­ South African Yachting maga­ the best in sailing, was struck Flying Dutchmen as che•ply as1 vide reat•excitement. zine also published the plans. by a new design published in a I could. I built the m. t one "The result was the Dab- In one- year, we issued num­ bers to 250 Dabchicks. "Now, ten years later, there are ·2,100 Dabchicks, not only in South Africa but also in h hi k England, United States , ·•1n1 ., ~ ·a c c a Canada, Australia, New. Zea- He .desi~edt h e ' • . ' land and several Afr i c an · _ -- . -. co_untries including Kenya an. d ~ Nigeria. "I understand that the yacht t Sm.en in club to be formed by Coloured . Jack KOper , . . t :~sailed. icraf by · ;people at Princess Vlei will I also ~ta_!!_-off w_ith Dabchicks."

BY JOHN Vl~TOR$COTT ·. ., ~. 1&1.aii~··1i11 • •• ~w::rilil The sale of plans for the many parts Dabchick enabled Jack Koper to give his children a univer­ APRlL- 2 2 t9E:>7. : ~\\M -ES.- sity education. Gerhard handled all the correspondence and made 50c on each plan. His younger prother Chris did activities, Koper's sailmaking all the handwork on the sails FEW men start a is self-taught-"through books and virtually put himself new career at the and trial and error" - though through university with the before setting up as a profes­ money he made. age of 55. Even fewer sional, he went on a brief visit Gerhard had been national are lucky enough to do to England, liolland, Switzer­ Sprog champion for three con­ land and Italy to study the secutive years. Chris sails a for a I iving what was latest methods. Finn, Lieda - oldest of the formerly a hobby. Last · Koper children - crews for A Dabchick on Zeekoevlei. 19'$:7 "A lot has been written her husband, Mr. Peter Old­ year Jack Koper, South about the science of sail shapes royd, on a Flying Dutchman, Africa n yachtsman, and wind forces and so on - and M a r g u e r i t e , 19, th.e but s a i 1 m a k i n g is still a youngest, is crew on her stability, and this involved they are trying to make it an sailing dinghy designer creative art." father's ,·Tempo. careful cutting of the plywood. international class. and b a c k ya rd boat Jack Koper's first sailing · The 15 ft .. 6 inch Tempo, The boat would be narrower "Tempos are a.Is o being experience · occurred when he with its low • slung hull, than 4 ft. fore and aft and the sailed in Germany, England, builder did both-he was nine, ·on a river near his rounded and superbly stream- off-cuts would be used for the Italy and United States. At left the printing trape b i r t h p l a· c e, Haarlem, in ]ined like a modern racing car, wider mid-section." present 186 are registered in Holland. "My father took me is Jack Koper's latest brain· The Tempo took two years South Africa." in which he had out in his 12-ft. dinghy, and I child. t o design. After he had built Jack is a popular guest on worked all his life, and was dead scared. Water was He said: "I thought there it Koper l~ nchedit secretly any yacht these days, from a coming over the bow and I was room for a third boat at Hermanus in 1963 and sailed 12-ft. dinghy to a 70-ft. ocean· became a professional thought we were going to cap­ between the Sprog and the it there for six months before going schooner. As a -profes­ sailmaker. size. I kept out of sailing boats Flying Dutchman. The basic officially letting anyone know sional sailmaker, his advice on for years afterwards." design would be that of a about the boat. sailsetting is eagerly sought In his sail-loft at Paarden About ten years later, how­ Dabchick, but it would be far ''.I then sailed it single· after. He has sailed a long way Eiland he now has a staff of ever, he joined a rowing club, more sophisticated. handed in an all-class race since the day he hand-sewed six to cope with orders from but was fo,rced to give up this "It was to be a boat with_ and was soon far ahead of his first Dabchick jib. as far as Canada and United form of exercise because of sufficient . comfort for .adults, everyone else. After these tests Are any other yachts likely States. They range from sails health reasons. · but built for speed. To cap- I found it necessary to make it to come off the Koper drawing for the little "Dabchick" which ture public imagination, it also a bit stronger. I also added board? Koper designed himself, to "So at the age of 22 ·· I had to look fast in appearance buoyancy tanks to the sides of "Not at. the moment," he sails measuring hundreds of started sailing again."! bough1! -·and be utterly different from the cockpit- it already had smiled. "But my wife feels I square feet for ocean-going myself a 12 square metre r . . any other class. · fore and aft buoyancy. should design another one. If I keel yachts. · sharpie and won the first race K 6per's lcitest creation is the T empo (above) tphic. ·h · i$ being :1ailed in Britai11, . Ger• " My idea was to use four "Plans for the Tempo have I do, it will be bigger than a I ever sailed in, which was sheets of 8 ft. by 4 ft. plywood, since qeen published in yacht· Tempo-probably a keel-boat." · Like many of his other very encouraging. I didn't many, Italy and the Vh Jted States. limiting it to a maximum ing · m gazines here and over- Deep-water yachtsmen will / -.... ,./ -.... length ~ just under 16 ft. It sea. I Holland, where there look forward to that . da¥ with would have a beam of 5 ft. for about 150 Tempos~,_.;;a::::n:.:ti:.:c.::ip::.:a:.:t:.:io:.:n:.:·______. __ _ II